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(No Model.)

'J. M. WOLBREGHT.

TENT.

No. 579,373. Patented Mar. 23, 1897..

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JOHN M. \VOLBRECHT, OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA.

TENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,373, dated March 23, 1897. Application filed March 16, 1896. Serial No, 583,456. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. VOLBRECHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohula Vista, in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tents; and I do here by declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in tents especially adapted for use by travelers, prospectors, hunters, and wheehnen, as well as by campaigners generally; and the objects that I have in view are, first, to provide a convenient portable shelter against wind, rain, and cold which can be conveniently rolled up or folded into compact shape for transportation; secondly, to provide a waterproof floor which is so combined with the walls of the tent as to alford a protection against the ingress of wind, rain, or snow, and which obviates the digging of a ditch around the tent, as is customary, to turn off the water, and, thirdly, to so construct the tent and combine the poles therewith that the poles serve to hold the bottom and top of the tent securely in place by the use of four guy-ropes and four pegs, thereby dispensing with the use of a larger number of pegs and ropes and contributing to the ease of setting up and taking down the tent.

lVith these ends in view myinvention consists of the novel construction and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully .described and claimed.

To enable others to readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of my tent set up for service. Fig. 2 is a vertical crossseotional view through a portion of the tent and bottom floor, the plane of section being indicated by the dotted line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail View illustrating one construction of a pole to engage with the top and bottom of the tent. another construction of the pole to hold the top and bottom of the tent in place. Fig. 5 is a detail view hereinafter described.

Fig. 4: is a like view of Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates the tent proper. It consists of four vertical walls a, the top or roof I), and the bottom or floor c, all made of canvas treated or prepared in a suitable way to render the fabric waterproof, or it may be made of rubber fabric or any other fabric suitable for the purpose. The roof I) and the floor c are united all around the tent in a peculiar way to the walls a of the tent, in order to make the same tight and exclude rain, snow, and wind and for the purpose of better adapting the tent to be held in place by the poles. The area of the floor c is somewhat greater than the ground area inclosed by the walls or faces a of the tent, so that the floor projects beyond the walls of the tent all around the same, and this fioor has avertieal flange c, which rises a suitable height from the same, as shown by Fig. 2. This flange 0 is formed by doubling or foldingthe fabric forming the floor 0 upon itself and then turning up the edge to form the flange, all as clearly shown by Fig. 2, and said flange c is united or secured in any suitable manner to the lower edge of the walls or faces a of the tent, thus having the edges of the floor c protruding and exposed beyond the tent, as clearly shown. The roof I) is similar to the floor c, in that it is larger than the area i11- closed between the walls of the tent, and also that it has a vertical flange or web 17, which is united to the tent-walls in a secure tight manner, the edges of the roof projecting beyond the vertical faces or walls of thetent. It will thus be seen that the tent has a floor and roof which are proof against the admission of water, and the tentis tight and closed all around the same, except at the place where one of the walls of the tent is left free to form the flap B. This flap can be raised and exposes an opening by which ingress and egress may be had to the tent. Any suitable means maybe provided for fastening the flap in place.

O designates the poles, four in number, D the guy-ropes, and F. the stakes. I use four ropes D and four stakes E, thus reducing the number of stakes and ropes to a much less number than is required in the ordinary tent, and which enables me to more quickly erect and take down the improved tent.

The poles shown by Fig. 3 each have the tenons e f at their upper and lower ends, respectively. The projecting edges of the roof Z) have the eyelets g at the corners and the corners of the floor 0 have the eyelets 7L. WVhen the tent is unfolded and raised, the tenou f of the pole is inserted through an eyelet h of the floor and is driven into the ground, While the tenon e of the pole is passed through an eyelet g of the roof, after which the looped end d of the guy-rope is fitted over the pro jecting end of the tenon c to bear down upon the edge of the roof, the guy-rope being led to and fastened around the stake E, which is driven into the ground at a suitable distance from the corner of the tent.

In the construction shown by Fig. 4f the pole is made to be used in connection with a loop 1; at each corner, near the lower edge, of the tent. The upper end of the pole in Fig. at has a notch or hole j formed therein, and in the lower part of the pole above the spiked foot is formed the notch Z. The guy-rope is passed through the aperture j in the upper end of the pole and through the eyelet g in the corner of the roof, a knot or other stop 6 being provided in the end of the rope, as shown. The spiked foot 70 of the pole is driven into the ground and the loop 2' is fitted around the pole so as to take into the notch Z and be held thereby against vertical displacement. The outer end of the guy-rope is fastened around the stake in the usual way.

My improved tent can be erected in a very brief time, as it is only necesary to spread out the tent, erect the poles, drive the stakes, and adjust the four guy-ropes. The tent can be dismantled in less time than it takes to erect it, and when the tent is collapsed it can be folded or rolled up in a very com pact form for transportation or storage. In folding the tent the waterproof side of the fabric should be turned out to protect it from dampness, dust, etc. The tent is tightly closed all around the same, attop and bottom, except at the flap B, so that the wind is prevented from entering the tent and upsetting it, also to exclude water, snow, (SIC. It will be noted that by having the floor of the tent join the walls the floor is kept dry and Water cannot penetrate the tent, thus dispensing with the digging of ditches to turn the water.

The poles connected at top and bottom to the tent serve to hold both the roof and floor of the tent in position and to keep it from being blown down by the wind.

The structure is simple and durable, can be manufactured at alow cost, folds up within a small compass for transportation, and is readily erected and dismantled by one person.

I do not desire to strictly limit myself to the employment of four poles to hold the tent when erected, nor do I limit myself strictly to the particular style of poles herein described. The tent can be supported and held down by two tent-poles only, or additional poles and guy-ropes may be provided, according to conditions to be met, as when the tent is exposed to high winds. Then the tent is used by soldiers in camping out, they may desire to use their guns instead of poles. A special-sized tent may be provided for the use of soldiery, as, for instance, a twogun tent can be made large enough for two men to sleep in it.

One of the important features of my improvement consists in so joining the tent floor and walls as to provide a gutter which will catch driving rain or sleet and serve to discharge the same to the outside of the tent, in order that the floor of the tent may not be made wet by the penetration of water driven in between the joint between the walls and floor. To attain this desirable end of keeping the tent-floor practically dry, the wall of the tent is carried down beyond the upper edge of the flange c of the floor, say about an inch from the top edge of the flange c, and the walls a and flange o are united in some cases by a row or rows of stitches arranged in the wall at below the upper edge of the flange 0, thus leaving the upper edge of the flange 0 free and unconfined. This free edge of the flange c is turned or bent away from the tent -wall, producing a gutter 0 (See Fig. 2.) WVhen the tent is exposed to a driving rain, sleet, or snow, the water which soaks through the walls of the tent is caught in the gutter 0 from whence it will escape by capillary attraction to the outside of the tent at the lower portion thereof. If, however, the rain is too severe and the Water will not escape freely, small openings at the bottom part of the gutter may be produced through the tent-walls, as indicated at m in Fig. 1, so as to suffice for the free eXit of the water that soaks through the tent-walls.

Instead of having eyelets at the corners of the roof I) for fastening the guy-lines, as in Fig. at, the guy-lines at the front, back, and at each end of the tent-roof may each be in one piece of looped rope, which is run through the seams that join the roof and tent-walls and arranged with loops to receive the tentpoles, thus giving additional strength to the ten-t, as indicated at 0 in Fig. 5, or, if desired, a separate piece of rope may be attached to the edge of the roof Z) at p in Fig. 1 for the attachment of the guy-lines.

My invention not only serves the purpose of a tent, but also as a convenient bedding sack or cover by rolling the tent together so as to bring its waterproofed surface to the outside, thus dispensing with a separate sack for the purpose of protecting the bedding. The bedding is rolled up with the tent, and it is protected thereby from rain and dirt durin g transportation, while the operation of setting up the tent produces a bed in which the occupant may sleep.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A portable tent having a substantially flat and sloping roof provided with the angular flange within the edge of the roof, the tent-walls united to said flange and lying in planes Within the overhanging edges of the roof, and poles connected to the overhanging edges of said roof, as and for the purposes described.

2. A portable tent comprising a roof havin g thependent flange within its overhanging edge, the floor provided with a flange within a projecting edge, the walls united to the flanges of the root and floor and lying in planes within the edges of the roof, poles engaging with said edges of the roof and floor, and suitable guy-ropes, as and for the purposes described.

3. A portable tent comprising the Walls and the substantially flat roof joined to said walls and provided at its several corners with holding devices, combined with uprights set opposite the corners of the tent and engaging with the lower part thereof, suitable stakes, and guy-ropes which are connected with said uprights and with the holding devices of the tent and fastened to the stakes, as and for the purposes described. I

4. A portable tent comprising the sloping roof having loops or eyelets at its several corfloor and roof, the joints between the floor and walls having exit openings or vents arranged to discharge to the outside of the tent, I

as and for the purposes described.

7. A portable tent provided with a floor having an upturned flange which is united to the tent-wall and forms therewith a gutter, suitable eXits or openings being provided in the tent-walls for the escape of water from said gutter, as set forth.

I11 testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. lVOLBREOI-IT.

Witnesses:

CARRIE J. ADAMS, B. Lnn VIc-KREY. 

